Europe-PH News

The government's "bold reforms" to restore investor confidence and improve the country’s business environment could help reverse the decline in foreign investments this year, according to the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

ECCP President Paulo Duarte said the sentiment among foreign investors is “very positive” following the “Big Bold Reforms” event on Friday, Jan. 16, which convened Cabinet secretaries and members of the private sector.

“I think we are looking to the country with the highest confidence, because what we understood here from the presentations today is that the government is serious in putting the reforms in place,” he told Manila Bulletin.

With Finance Secretary Frederick Go as the keynote speaker, the event laid out the government’s reforms and plans for the year.

The media was barred from participating in the actual forum, but in a subsequent press briefing, Go said he presented major initiatives, such as visa-free entry for Chinese nationals and the launch of a nationwide singlewindow integrated trade facilitation platform.

He also announced a funding solution for the recently vetoed Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, as well as the adoption of a digitized riskbased and data-driven audit system within the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Through these reforms, Duarte said the government reaffirms its support for the interests of the private sector and its commitment to helping grow businesses in the country

“From the investors! sentiment, [it was] quite positive. This political noise with the infrastructure problems are, I would say, a little bit behind,” said Duarte. “Despite all these issues we had in the third quarter [last year], we have seen that the country is still growing,” he added.

From July to September last year, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to four percent, well below the 5.5 percent recorded in the second quarter. The decline was mainly attributed to government spending, which plummeted in the quarter as many infrastructure projects were put on hold following the massive corruption scandal in flood control projects.

The corruption issue was also blamed for the decline in foreign direct investment (EDI) last year. By the end of October last year, FDI inflows fell 24 percent to $6.18 billion compared to $8.18 billion recorded during the same period in 2024, based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino said the reforms presented by the Cabinet secretaries could help inspire investor confidence, especially since they provide a clear direction for the year. “All those speakers today gave us a clear idea of the plan moving forward, and that's good. Because what we need now is clarity, and what we need now is a clear sense of direction,” Castelino told Manila Bulletin. “I'm very happy this is being done, especially at the beginning of the year, to continue to inspire more investors,” he added.

Castelino said these reforms are especially critical since the Philippines is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings this year, which could further heighten investor interest in the country. “The hosting of ASEAN by the Philippines could be a vehicle to bring in more of these changes, and of course, more of these reforms and positive plans moving forward,” he noted.